Gaara's Morning Glory
by Melissiaew
Summary: He had one friend, before he was lost to his madness. She was there to watch him fall and tried everything to bring him back, but some wounds are just too much for one person to heal. That's way Naruto was her hero, he gave her back her best friend and she would do anything and everything to make sure he never fell into the darkness again.
1. Before the fall

She watched him from the shadows. She could see the sorrow and pain in his eyes. It was a pain that she knew well. Being alone and unwanted, not having anyone to turn to. The people who were suppose to protect and shield you were the first to throw you into the line of fire and laugh as they watched you burn.

He couldn't be much older than her but he was so much smaller. He looked so small and fragile, like a light wind could blow him away. It made her want to protect him something that she hadn't felt before. And if the rumors that flow through the orphanage were true, he was the last person in the whole village that needed protecting, least of all from a slip of a girl like her.

This time when he just stood and watched as the other kids played, much like she did. When the ball rolled toward him, he took it as an opportunity to try and make friends or at least play with someone for a change. He used the sand around them to lift the ball up for him to grab it.

"Umm.. can I play?"

The children stood frozen for a few seconds, unsure how to respond. Their parents have told them to avoid the Kazekage's youngest child for as long as they can remember. Not to mention the number of times that his powers have hurt or even killed some people who have got to close. They didn't know if they should run and hide or stay and do as he said for fear of his powers.

One of the older boys finally had the courage to yell,"No, you freak! Come on guys we need to get out of here." before he took off and ran like the coward that she was beginning to think the village was full of.

The happiness that had began to spark in his eyes died out with those few words and the pain and sorrow slowly began to seep back in.

This time she was determined to talk to him. She wasn't going to let him walk away with that kicked puppy look. Her mother use to tell her that her heart was simply too big and that it made her want to save every hurt or pained creature that crossed her path.

Well, today that creature was none other than Gaara Sabaku, youngest child of Lord Kazekage, jailer of the village's monster.

"If you want, I'll play with you, but you can't use your sand. It's way too easy for you to hurt me with it."

With that she took the ball from his shocked, frozen fingers and walked a few feet and hurled the ball as hard as she could at his face.

Naturally the sand moved to protect it's master uncaring of the rule that the young girl had made. For it had been made to protect him, with a will that wasn't its master's. As it stopped the ball, more rushed to attack the girl that had dared attack it's child.

Her eyes grew wide. She knew that something like this could happen if she throw the ball but the temptation was just too much for her to resist. She snapped her eyes close and turned to the side and raised her arms to protect her head as she waited for the sand to slam into her. After a few minutes and she still didn't feel the crushing power of his sand she slowly opened her eyes to see that the sand had stopped mere inches from her face. She moved her head to the side to see past the spear of sand to the boy it protected.

Gaara had to use every ounce of will that he had to pull the sand back. His little eyes were closed tight in concentration. With his hands out like he was trying to pull it back.

"You stopped it. Thank you Lord Gaara." was the softly spoken reply to his act.

Never before had someone thanked him, or try to play with him. Well his uncle would try to but that was different.

He opened his eyes and looked at the girl that was the first to try and come into his little circle. She wasn't much to look at if he was going to be honest. She had long brown hair pulled up into a high ponytail. Her nose was a little too big for her face, and had a small pouty kinda mouth but that could just be because she was pouting at the moment. But the one thing that really stood out was her eyes. He had never seen anything like them before, they were violet like the sky just before the sunrise.

"Maybe ball isn't the safest thing to play. Maybe we could build sandcastles or play tag? If you don't want to do that, we could have a race to see who's the fastest."

Gaara listened as she talked, not really paying much attention as he moved over to the mound of sand that served as a "sandbox". He figured that would be enough of a clue as to what he wanted to do. The two sat in a comfortable silence as they built. Slowly a little village began to take shape as they worked. Gaara used his sand to shape the buildings and mold the streets and the young girl by his side used her hands and fingers to build up large piles of sand for Gaara to shape.

The moon was bring to peek over the highest point of the village walls when Gaara realized that they had in fact been playing in the sand for hours. His uncle would be coming to find him before long, if he wasn't already looking.

She looked over at him when he stopped shaping the buildings, by this point they had a small city made. He was sporting a troubled look. His eye kept shifting between her, the sand, and the rising moon.

"Is something wrong, Gaara?"

His eyes widened in shock. This was a first for him. Never before had someone outside of his uncle cared to know what was troubling him. He wasn't really sure how to respond. Was it proper to tell one's troubles to a new friend? If so how long did one talk to them and did one tell them all? These thoughts kept drifting around in his head adding to his worries.

She could tell that she had shocked him by asking. So she waited until he processed what she said and thought of how to respond. She was young but she was an observant and patience child her short time at the orphanage had taught her that.

When it became apparent that he wasn't going to be able to get the words out, she took it upon herself to figure out what was bothering her new friend, her only friend if she was going to be honest with herself. By the way he kept looking at the rising moon she guessed that it had something to do with how late it was. As his eyes shifted to look at her once more, this time locking with hers, his whole face turned as red as his hair. It was kinda cute, the fact that she thought that was a shock. She looked away, chuckling. Today was full of surprises and shocks, but she had guessed that it was getting late and he didn't want to leave her and their little sand village.

"It's okay, Gaara. If you need to return home. I know it's late, I wouldn't be surprised if someone wasn't out looking for you or me at this point. Plus I'll be here tomorrow and we can play again."

As she stood, she smiled and put her hand out to help him stand. She burst out laughing at the look of pure joy on his face when he seen her offered hand, like no one had ever wanted to touch him before. He reached up and grabbed her hand to pull himself up when he heard his uncle calling his name. He must have been out much later than he originally thought.

She dropped his hand and told him it was okay go and repeated that she would be here tomorrow to play three more times before he ran to where his name was being called. As she watched him go she raised her hand to wave again knowing that he would turn back to see if she was still there.

"GAARA!"

He'd been yelling for his nephew for what felt like hours. He was beginning to worry that one his brother-in-law's attempts was successful and it was killing him inside. He couldn't bare stand the thought that he could have lost his sister's precious baby boy too.

"Un…"

"Uncle"

"Uncle Yashamaru!" is what he he heard right before a little red blur slammed into his side.

He grabbed his nephew and held him close thankful that he was alive and well. Before long Gaara began to wiggling signaling that he was done.

"I made a friend! We played in the sand and I was even able to stop my sad from hurting her!"

The joy and happiness that radiated from him was contagious. Yashamaru began to smile down at his charge as he told him all about this new friend of his. He learned that she was a bit bigger than him and wasn't afraid to throw balls at him. She always wasn't very good at building, but could draw small details well. She had violet eyes and brown hair. She wasn't scared of little Gaara at all. She seemed to be a sweet little girl, or she had a death wish.

"So, Gaara all that's well and good in all but what's your new friend's name?"

One question was enough to bring the cute little boy to his knees. How could he have forgotten to ask her what her name was? You really couldn't say you were friends when you didn't even know their name.

"Tomorrow. I'll ask her tomorrow."

* * *

 **I haven't stopped writing Golden Love, have part of the next chapter wrote but with story had been bouncing in my head. I blame my Co-writer and Beta Jaxrond, she wanted to do a new Naruto Story, _Unwilling Sword,_ and so this was born from that. Also if you haven't guessed my new OC's name is not in this chapter, (I'm guessing some of you check). If you can guess what it is before shes named in the next chapter or two there will be an omake written by me or Jaxrond. Shes super excited by this story and has told me has a lot of idea for them. Anyway hope you enjoy and please reveiw.**

 **HINT: her name's in the title**


	2. Ruby Sand

Trying to sneak into her orphanage wasn't easy, being that most of the worker were retired ninja. It made sense when they took in fallen shinobi's children. Most of the children already had some form of training and a normal orphanage just wouldn't be able to handle them.

She was amazed that she had made it back to her room without running into at least one person, lady luck must have been on her side tonight.

After changing into her pjs, she layed in bed and just took a moment to let it sink in. She, an orphan had talked and played with one of Lord Kazekage's children, cute little Gaara at that. He was just so adorable it made her want to hug him and protect him from the world. Not that she could, the girl could barely protect herself from the boys in the orphanage, but that would change soon. She didn't want them to think she was weak. She may be small, but that didn't mean she didn't pack a punch where it counted.

Her mother always told her that a predictable ninja was a dead ninja. Some saying that her mother's clan lived and died by. But then her mother wasn't always known for her more sound decisions, one of them leaving a valley full of life and family to marry a suna-nin and come to this god-awful desert. Then again if her mother hadn't left the valley she never would have been born and then she never would have met Gaara. She slowly fall asleep with thoughts of her new friend, changing into dreams.

She knew her youngest charge was safe in bed but that didn't stop the wild pounding of her heart. She could have had a much different visit tonight. After the old matron had been told just who she had been out with and advised to keep her away from him, she thanked the anbu who had shadowed Asagao until she reached the gates. She knew that the Kazekage's youngest wasn't the safest person to be around, but was he really so dangerous that it warranted an anbu visit? Asagao wasn't trying to turn him from the village, she was simply being kind, that girl didn't have a devious bone in her body. That's way they had been trying to talk her out of being a shinobi. She wouldn't have the stomach for it.

Maybe it would be for the best to tell her little flower that it would be safer to stay away from the young Gaara. She shook her head as she thought of the confrontation she would have to go through with the coming of the sun. It wasn't something she looked forward to but the safety of her wards were the most important thing to her.

Asagao knew that something was wrong when she woke up the next morning. There were no shouts or grunts from the boys playing in the halls. No crys for more breakfast or voices saying to use one's inside voice. It was altogether too quiet and that worried her greatly. She wonder if maybe they had potential adopters stop by unannounced, wouldn't be the first time. It would explain why no one woke her.

After bathing and dressing for the morning she made her way down to the kitchens to see what was for breakfast, instead of bacon and eggs she found the head caretaker waiting for her.

She waited, she had heard the sound of water running and knew it wouldn't be long before she made her way down. She had sent the boys out on various errands to keep them away from the house. She didn't want this conversation to have an audience. She knew that Asagao had such few friends and to tell her to stop playing with one just killed the old women. This wouldn't be easy for either one of them and she hoped that Asagao didn't make it any harder than it needed to be.

"Asagao."

One word and she knew that she was in trouble. She wasn't sure exactly what she had done but it must have been really bad to send everyone away. Secretly she wonder if they were going to kick her out like the last few did. Her mother wasn't a suna-nin and that was well known by the people in charge. Most people hated that her mother had been a leaf-nin, she had chosen to leave Suitopi valley to marry her father and retire. But that hatred for an enemy nin had followed her and daughter.

"We need to talk about your new friend. I don't think that you should see him anymore. He's dangerous and he could hurt you. What if he killed you? He's a monster and it's just not safe."

She see that her pleas weren't getting through. Asagao maybe a quiet and shy child most of the time, but she was stubborn, and in her eyes that monster was just a little boy. A child not much older than her, one that needed love and protection from the world around him.

"He's just a boy, I know that he's the Kazekage's son and it not really proper for an orphan like me to interact with him but he needs someone to care about him. He doesn't get that from his family and I know that he could hurt me if he's not careful but so could any of the boys that live here. A few of them have!"

Her little fists were balled up at her side. As she tried her hardest to explain her reasoning. It didn't matter if they approved of their friendship, she wasn't going to leave him to fall into the cracks. She knew the damage words and actions can have on child. She had been to the target of many an unkind word or cruelly pushed out of the way so _true_ suna children could have more to eat. She hadn't had the best life before this orphanage took her in and she knew that no other would but the risk of losing her shelter was something she was willing to give up if it meant that she could help someone else.

"Fine, I can see that no matter what I say or do your not going to listen to me, but please be careful girl I don't want to bury you."

With that she gave a sad, tired sigh. She knew that nothing would change her mind. She just would have to keep a better eye on her to make sure that nothing to bad happened to her. If Gaara did hurt her, then she would just lock her in her room until she forgot about the boy or until his father could finally kill him.

"Just eat your breakfast. I don't care if you play with him today, but please don't be out all night again."

Asagao stood there not sure if she had won this battle or lost. She kinda felt like she lost something, but she was still allowed to be friends with Gaara.

By the time she made it there, it was a half past noon and poor Gaara had been waiting for over an hour. He was being to think that she wasn't going to make this time.

"Sorry, I'm late Gaara." she got out between breaths.

Gaara looked up and eyes wide and steps toward her before she can react and pulls her into a hug. He had began to worry that her parents wouldn't let her come back after they found out about them.

Asagao laughed, she thought that it was cute that he ran up to hug her like that but it wasn't the most proper thing to do.

"You know, Gaara, you really shouldn't hug people you don't know all that well. I could just be a really good assassin." as she talking to him in between her giggles, she pokes him really hard in his back and then yells, "You're it!" before she took off running.

She knew that she had at least a second, maybe a solid minute before he processed what she said and did. So the plan was to get as far away from him as possible in that small amount of time.

It didn't take long for Gaara to understand what was happening and an even shorter amount of time before he took off after her. He knew that she had an advantage. She had a head start and she was faster than him, being that she was taller and actually exercised. So if he wanted to tag her he was going to have to think outside the box.

The most logical choice would be to use his sand, but she wasn't an enemy. So he didn't want to hurt her, so that was out. He continued to chase after her hoping that if he kept up he would think of something, but his little lungs weren't use to this much work and they were beginning to voice their opinion on the matter.

Before long he began to gasp for breath but he was determined to catch her. That was all he could think about. This was the first time anyone had wanted to play and he wasn't going to let anything stop him from playing, not even his own limitations. His thoughts must have overridden his control.

His sand began to follow after the girl as well. At first it didn't want to hurt her as per its' master's wishes. So it simply tried to trip her up, just to slow her down so he could reach her. It worked at first but Gaara was so far behind that she would be up on her feet before long and running again. There were times when she would trip all on her own and the sand would simply try to hold her still, but it had never had to hold something in place without deadly force before. So it hold would never be all that strong.

Asagao thought that he was simply playing with her. She never imagined that she was dealing with his uncontrolled power. She really thought that Gaara had better control than what people had given him credit for. That innocent thought was going to haunt her for years to come. She never once believed that he would harm her. She truly believed that he only ever reacted out of self-defense. That belief was shattered when his sand could no longer wait for him.

She felt the blood before she felt the pain. The warmth of it as it ran down her leg.

She had felt the weight on her leg before the blood or the pain. But it was only there for a second before her blood began to ran, maybe two or three before she cried out at the pain. The first step was the worse. Her nerves protested the movement before her brain could send adrenaline pumping through her body to escape from the threat. It knew that she was no match for whatever was capable of ripping through her thigh so easily.

Funny that the first thought that floated through her head was about the flight or fight instinct. It became clear to her that she had more of flight reaction to pain than a fight, another thing that was different than her mother. One more like the father that this village like to forget about.

The second thought was that Gaara was going to blame himself and go back to being alone and the head matron was never going to let her out of her room to see him now. The friendship didn't even get the chance to bloom let alone last. If this was going to be it, she was going to make sure he knew that she didn't blame him and that she was going to find a way to be with him. She just didn't listen to her instincts much or authority figures.

He watched in muted horror as his worst fear was realized before him. He never wanted to hurt her and this was beyond that. The blood was beginning too turn the sand around her red.

This time he really was a monster. He just wanted to catch her, to run and play like a normal kid. This wasn't normal, he would never be normal would he?

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." he sobbed as he raced to her side. This was it, he was going to lose the only friend he had and it was all his fault.

Asagao watched him cry in a daze. She reached out to take his hand. As she grabbed his hand she slowly patted him with the other. Funny that she was the one giving comfort, when she should be the one receiving it. But she needed him to know that it would be okay and that she wasn't mad at him.

"It's okay Gaara. I'm not mad. I know that it was an accident just don't let it happen again. Now I need you to go get help, or I'll be in real trouble and then we won't be able to play ever again."

* * *

** **Omake By Jaxrond****

"You should kill me."

Again she said those words. The same words that she had been saying over and over for the last three days. With a sigh, the male ninja looked across the campsite at her. They had forgone a campfire, wary of being discovered, especially in the state they both were in. When he had found her on the battlefield, she had been close to death. It had taken much of his chakra, and all of his medical training and experience, to save her life. Ever since she'd become coherent again, though, she had been going on about how they were enemies and he should kill her.

The battle had been one between Suna and Konoha. As the Third Great Ninja War raged on, the Five Great Nations struggled against each other, trying to gain the advantages necessary to bring their enemies to their knees. So far, there had only been a great deal of bloodshed with very little headway. The ninja of Suna had ambushed those of Konoha, springing on them as they carried their wounded back from a previous battlefield. It was a low tactic, but, ninja rarely relied on honorable means. He had been with the ambush team as their medic. She had been among the already-wounded. When the trap was sprung, the blood began to flow. He had no stomach for combat, being a healer, but, he had been given his orders to move to the front-line. Those orders had fled his mind when he took a kunai to the stomach while attempting to rescue a fallen comrade, thereby putting him out of commission long enough that the comrade died while he attempted to patch his own wound. There had been only two fighters left by then, one from each side, tearing at each other like beasts. He had moved on instinct, grabbing the nearest wounded person he could find and dragging them away, knowing that the ambush had been a failure.

He hadn't cared that the one he took was a Leaf Shinobi. He was a medic. It was his job to save lives. His team had always told him that he wasn't cut out for war, and he believed them. After finishing healing his own injury, he'd poured himself into saving his new companion. He had quickly identified her as a member of the Hokkaido, a clan well-known for their fighting prowess and frightening Kekkei Genkai. He had also identified that she was the most beautiful patient he'd ever worked on. That had surprised him. He was used to being successfully clinical in his work, especially with women, never looking beyond the injury or affected body part. But, there was something about her that drew him.

He frowned, dragging a hand through his messy, dark hair.

"That's what you keep saying. But, if I'd wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have gone through the trouble of saving you."

She immediately scowled at him, green eyes flashing. Those eyes were part of what captivated him. He couldn't help but stare. There wasn't much green in the desert, and he had decided it was one of the loveliest colors he'd ever seen as soon as she had first opened them. He knew more about her than most of her comrades probably did. The medicine he'd given her at first had made her surprisingly chatty, and she'd told him all sorts of things before she'd come around enough to realize that he was the enemy. Then, she'd gone beet red in embarrassment. To him, it had been nothing short of adorable. The things that had poured out of her mouth had ranged from asking about her family's well-being to old mission reports. He was used to it. It wasn't unusual for a patient to just start talking when under the influence of medicine, and he hadn't paid her words much mind, aside from listening enough to give her the proper comforting reply as he eased her through her pain, which was considerable.

It was surprising that he had managed to get as far with the process as he had given the circumstances. Her legs and lower torso had been in horrible shape, a hastily bandaged mess of deep gashes and flayed skin, no doubt the product of a well-marked enemy wind jutsu fired at close range. It was for this reason that the healing was taking so long. Piece by piece, gash by gash, he stitched her back together. He didn't dare to move her, preferring to keep her in a well-concealed cave until she could move on her own. They both had supplies enough to last a good while, and there was no real need for him to leave at all, especially when his chakra was so low from the daily healings. Risk of discovery was low.

"I don't see why you didn't," she replied to his earlier statement, "We're enemies."

He let his violet eyes trail from her wounds back to her face.

"Our villages might be at odds, but, I don't think that means that we as people need to be."

She scowled deeply.

"You'll be branded a traitor."

He shrugged.

"No one ever has to know. If we get through this and get home alive, I'll just say I was wounded during the ambush and needed time to recoup."

His unwilling companion growled under her breath and made to roll away from him, onto her side. A sharp wince told him that the attempted movement had caused her pain. He was at her side in an instant, ignoring the way she tensed at the sudden proximity.

"Let me help you."

"I don't need it!"

His expression became stern.

"Kuchinashi," he murmured, his tone reprimanding. Her name had been one of the many things that slipped from her when she was in a medical stupor. Before he'd run out of medicine to give her. His hand slipped gently to her arm, running lightly over her arm, which was bared by her torn sleeve. As a medic, he had no aversion to physical contact, "You may not like it, but I am caring for you. Allow me to help you."

Kuchinashi stilled. Her initial stubbornness told her to refuse him, push through the pain and do it herself. But, after a moment of consideration, she found herself nodding. Carefully, the medic rolled her onto her side, trying to cause her the least amount of pain possible. When he had succeeded, he tucked her in carefully, hands soft as he wrapped her in a thin camping blanket. Her eyes followed his movements, a frown on her face. He was a good looking young man, maybe seventeen or so, not much older than her. Despite her insistence of their enmity, being in a cave alone with this caring man had drawn her to him, no matter how she tried to resist. As he finished tucking her in, he caught her eye. A smile pulled his lips up.

"There. Better?"

Kuchinashi gave a single nod. No, despite her insistence, it could be much worse. She pursed her lips for a moment before speaking.

"What's your name?"

It was the first time she had actually expressed any sort of interest in knowing something about him. He looked pleasantly surprised. His soft smile widened as he reached out to let his hand rest over hers, almost as though he meant to shake it.

"My name is Panji. Nice to meet you."

He gave a small chuckle and Kuchinashi almost smiled in return. Yes, it could be much worse.

* * *

 **Hope you guys like this chapter. I wasn't sure about how fast a made them friends, but with them being children and how Gaara was trying so hard as a kid a thought that it fit. Also I didn't throw anything in to be found this time. But if any of you have a request for an Omake don't be afraid to ask.**

 **: you did guess right... Flower names are how Asagao's mother's clan named their children, doesn't have to be a flower just plants really.**

 **Anyway enjoy and please reveiw.**


	3. Kazeko

His legs were beginning to burn from running and his lungs felt like they were going to explode, but none of that mattered, he had to get to his uncle. It felt like forever before the young boy made it to his home. Before long he was running up the stairs and pushing his siblings out of his way to make it to his uncle. He had promised her that he would get help, and the only person that would help him was his caretaker.

"Uncle", heavy breathing,"Yasha-", another long breath,"-maru, I need your help!"

Yashamaru had turned to look at his nephew when had burst into the room. His eyes widen in panic when he took in what Gaara had said and the look on his face. He knew that something bad must have happened to make him panic like this.

"She's hurt and it's really bad there was blood everywhere. She's going to die and it's all my fault. You have to help her. Please don't let her die. I can't lose my only friend, Uncle Yashamaru!"

Yashamaru took a moment to let it soak in, his nephew had hurt this girl he had been playing with and he was the first person that Gaara had thought to come to. That meant that he was going to need his medical supplies. Yashamaru was a medic-nin. He wasn't genius one like lady Chiyo, but he could help patch the child up until he could get her to a hospital or back to her home, whichever it came too.

Gaara led when back to where he had left the girl. She was surrounded by a wall of sand, almost like he was scared that someone would take her away before he could get back.

"Now, Gaara, if you want me to help her, you have to let me get to her."

Yashamaru looked down at his nephew as he spoke, hoping that he would get through to his panicked mind. He knew that Gaara could lose control and hurt people, but this was the first time he had really hurt someone so close to him. Sure, he had hurt him a time or two but not like this.

Slowly the sand wall opened to reveal the young girl inside. It looked like she had administered some very basic first aid by ripping up part of her shirt and applying it. But the wound was already beginning to bleed through. As he rushed to clean and inspect the wound, he noticed that her chakra had already made its way to the wound. He had no idea that Gaara's new friend was a shinobi's child. It did explain her lack of fear.

"Hello, miss, I'm Gaara's uncle, Yashamaru. I'm going to try and seal up part of this puncture to keep the dirt out and hopefully keep your blood in." Yashamaru continued to talk to the girl as he worked to try and keep her mind at ease. "You know, Gaara never did tell me your name, would you mind telling me? It would help so that I can get in touch with your parents after this."

He has asked mostly to get her talking and responsive, and a small part wanted to know just who this little girl who could so easily play with the village monster was. She seemed so fearless to him. Even now with her leg bleeding and his nephew weeping in her arms. She should be the one crying and carrying on but instead was just, holding little Gaara.

"My name," she seemed to be dazed as she tried to answer,"it's um," she briefly closed her eyes as if she was trying to remember something long forgotten,"Kazeko, Asa..." was all she managed to get out before she finally lost the battle and fainted from the pain.

Kazeko was a name that Yashamaru barely remembered. If his memory served him right it, there had been a medic by that surname that had died about three years or so ago. Not one of Gaara's victim's, but he was one of the few that didn't fear the boy. That was the only reason that Yashamaru even remembered him, he had been kind to Gaara, giving him sweets. Or was that his wife?

Her wound was deeper than he had originally thought. She was going to need some help for the next few days. He could close up the wound but the muscles were going to need to heal mostly on their own. He could reconnect them but the hard work was going to have to come from her body's ability to heal.

"Gaara we need to get her back home. I've fixed most of the damage, but she's going to need to rest and stay off her feet for a week or two, but I'm sure you can come and visit and talk with her."

Having said that, he just realized that he had no idea where she lived or with whom. He couldn't exactly wait for her to wake up and tell him. Logically, he knew it couldn't be too far but he wasn't going to knocking on random doors until he found the right one. So he was just going to have to take her home with him and little Gaara.

"Change of plans, your little friend's going to come home with us and stay until we can get her home."

Gaara looked up at him with big green eyes filled with hope. If she came home with them, then he didn't have to worry about losing her. She would be right at there whenever he wanted to play or talk.

Yashamaru didn't want to get his nephew's hopes up. Her family could come for her in a few hours. He didn't know when she was do back home, and from what he could remember of Panji's wife, she wasn't one to let her child ran around at all hours for the night.

This didn't make any sense to him. How could her mother not have come looking for her yet? It had been two days since he had brought her back home with him and little Gaara and still no sign of the woman. Maybe things weren't so great at home. It pained him to think that the woman he remembered would act like that. She had been so sweet, as sweet as a kunoichi could be. She never had a cross word to say. The woman could have been a saint. But then that had been years ago and memories tend to change with age.

It would be some much easier for him if Miss Kazeko would just wake up. Her wound hadn't been so bad that an infection had set in, so he was again worried. There wasn't any medical reason that he could think of that was causing her coma like state. He was beginning to fear that the girl didn't want to wake up, but again that didn't make much sense. Granted, he didn't know her well, but she seemed to be a fairly happy again girl. But outward appearances can be deceiving, as a ninja he knew that well. Which once again brought him back to the fact that her mother hadn't come to claim her after two days. Unbeknownst to him though, someone had been looking for her.

The head matron was a busy woman. She had an orphanage filled to the brim with young boys that were trained to become shinobi some day. That meant at least every hour or so they managed to hurt themselves, each other or the place they called home. So as much as it pained her admit, she didn't notice right away when the one girl there wasn't around. In her defense, most of the time Asagao wasn't even at the orphanage. More often than not the girl was out and about the village. She loved to observe people and learn about the them. If she was home she was in her room drawing some flower or plant that had peaked her interest, or making the boys lives miserable for messing with her. She was just what one wanted in a kunoichi, she could stand out when needed but could just as easily blend into the background and be forgotten.

So when two days had gone by without at least one of the boy getting "sick", she knew that something was wrong. At first she simply thought that Asagao was avoiding her after their talk. It was a reasonable thought until she remember just who she was thinking about. This was the girl that would smile when she beat the boys for messing with her. The one took pride in the fact that she was skilled enough to hurt boys twice her size and with more experience and training than her. She wouldn't avoid her, she was the type to tell her where she was going and with whom. She liked that about Asagao, she never tried to lie about what she was doing she owned up to it. Not that she would come right out and say if she did something she shouldn't have, no she waited until she was caught.

So by day two of no sudden illnesses or any sign of the young girl. She began to worry, so naturally she checked her room. It was then that she noticed that the bed hadn't be slept in or used. The room was just to still, like someone hadn't been there for a day or two. She knew that something had happened to Asagao, but she just needed to know what and where she was.

She feared that the village monster has killed her, and that they were going to cover it up. Asagao was a promising student, with enough time she would be a very skilled kunoichi. Before she counted her dead she was going to search for her. Maybe she made it to the hospital, or someone had taken pity on the girl and was taking care of her.

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 **Sorry it took so long to get the next chapter out. No omakes again sorry about that. now if you guys would like to see another one don't be afraid to ask.**


	4. Family

Yashamaru didn't want to believe what that woman had told him. Kuchinashi had been an amazing person. She had given up everything for Panji, her valley, her people, and her bloodline. Everything that made her who she was, all so she could be with the man who had saved her life and stolen her heart. The thought that her life had be taken from her so soon was heartbreaking for him to even think about.

All this time, he could have been helping, but instead he had let his self pity at losing Karura consume him. He knew how his village treated outsiders. When Panji was alive she would have been treated with the respect of a shinobi's wife and her outsider status would have been overlooked for the most part. She still would have gotten looks and a few less than pleasant comments. But after Panji died all bets would have been off.

But to think that she had died in such a slow and painful way was just heartbreaking. She had contracted a disease that had eaten away at her bit by bit. The heartbreaking part about it was that it was curable. But the simple fact that she wasn't from their village was enough to keep them from giving her the medicines that she needed.

After Panji had been killed on mission, his funds should have gone to Kuchinashi and their daughter, Asagao. After all they were married, and she had given up all claim to her life in the Leaf village. But the powers that be had decided that, as an outsider and her child, they deserved nothing from one of their shinobi and took all the money that was rightfully hers. Reclaimed in the name of the village and it's people, they said. It mostly likely lined their own pockets.

So because of those fools on the council Asagao was an orphan. Because her mother couldn't afford the medicine to heal her and her father had been sent to his death.

"So, she is an orphan." he looked over at the woman who had come looking for Asagao, "Are you sure she has no family left? What about her mother's people? Her clan?"

Koai shook her head sadly, "I doubt they even know about Asagao, or that they even care. From what I've been told, her mother was banished when she chose to marry Panji."

Yashamaru was every bit the ANBU he was rumored to be. So, the only show of emotion was the storm in his eye and the slight clench of his fist before he lit his grip relax. Instead of showing the pain that he felt, he smiled.

"I can't adopt her as I wish, but could I make her my ward? Officially she would still be an orphan but I would give her my support. With my name, and that of the Kazekage's through my sister's marriage, it would give her opportunities that being a normal orphan would not. I think she has some promise as a med-nin. I know of some people that would help her with that myself included."

At first, she thought that she would be taking young Asagao's body home to bury with her parents when she heard that she had been taken here. Never in her wildest imagination did she think that she would be getting an offer like this. Koai was a proud woman, she didn't like to be wrong but she wasn't so proud that she couldn't admit when she was.

"I have no problem that is one less child in our orphanage, one less mouth to feed and cloth. And if you can help her with a ninja career than by I means yes. But while it's true that I'm in charge of my home. Asagao is a ward of the village and anything that you do for her will have to be approved by them."

Yashamaru knew who the _them_ in question were. The old men and women on the council, the ones that hate anything to do with outsiders. She also had a target on her back for being friends with Gaara. They wanted him dead, and his inability to control the One Tail was their excuse to get rid of him.

Since befriending Asagao he was calmer, more in control. Not completely yet, as this latest incident showed, but much better than he had been a month ago. If this continued, then they would lose their reason to kill him. He could point out that being with her was making him stable and therefore usable. He could become the weapon that they had wanted all along. If he couldn't appeal to their emotions by pointing out how she is helping Gaara; he would point how she could possibly be an asset to the village. They were always in need of skilled Medic nins and she had the potential to be one.

"It's not just that, our little flower has a bad habit of making people "sick". She thinks its funny to watch the boys freak out anytime she makes something. Granted those boys like making her life hell, but if you have something she can use as a poison, she's going to. Hell, I've even seen her use things that aren't normally poisonous. That girl is skilled when it comes to poisons and plants. Do you think you could handle that?"

Yashamaru looked at Koai and tried his hardest not to laugh, but the thought that this one little girl would be hard for him to handle was too much. He had spent the last few years raising Gaara. They village monster after all. Keeping an eye on one little poison princess was going to be a piece of cake after Gaara.

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 **sorry it took so long to get this one out. Its been done for awhile, was toying with idea of adding more to it but couldn't really get what I wanted to put next to fit in this chapter... Also its going to be awhile until I can get another chapter out. My other story _Golden Love_ is almost done and I'm going to try and focus on that. **


	5. The mission

Yashamaru was at his wit's end at this point. Asagao had poisoned Kankuro three times this week alone. And he couldn't even get mad at her because she did it in defense of Gaara. Kankuro had called him a freak and monster again and made him cry, so, logically Asagao decided that Kankuro needed to be punished, and since none of the adults did it, she did. Why did he ever think that looking after her was going to be easy? Three times this week alone, he had to lie to his Kazekage and tell him that his son was just sick. She was going to be the death of him, he could see it now.

But, on the other hand, he had never seen Gaara happier. He had really come out of his shell when Asagao began to live with them. He laughed and played. He was so much more open and vocal, he would talk about anything and everything. He didn't try and hide in his room any more. It was like he was a whole new person at times. He had even been able to control the one-tails powers better. It was like love was what he had needed to combat the hate that was sealed inside of him.

Yashamaru truly believed that the rest of their family could look past the prisoner and see the warden, maybe just maybe Gaara would have a chance at a normal life. One where he didn't have to fear for his life or the lives of his friends and loved ones.

He walked over to the window and watched as his ward and his nephew played in the sand. They seemed to be building a mini-village in the sand. It was the only outside activity that he would allow them to do. Asagao's thigh was healing nicely but he didn't want her to put too much weight on it just yet. It would be better for her to favor it for another month.

Truth be told, he really didn't want her outside at all, but that was just his fatherly instincts talking. He would have liked it better if the two would play inside where it was mostly free of sand. Also, they would be safer, well, Gaara would be safer. Yashamaru had always feared for his nephew's life, but, lately the Kazekage was actively pushing for Gaara's death. He didn't think it was safe to have him in the village anymore. He feared that it would be long before his brother-in-law managed to kill his sweet little Gaara.

His pale eyes turned toward Asagao. He worried about her just as much. Even with his name and that of the Kazekage, she was still treated poorly by many of the council. If he didn't fear for her life, he would tell them of the times that she had managed to poison the Kazekage's child. Many times under the careful watch of the Anbu. That little slip of a girl was going to be a poison mistress that could rival Lady Chiyo. He could almost see their future now: Gaara with Asagao by his side, most likely on a team together. His sand would be the cover that she used to get in close to the enemy. With her mastery of poison and medical ninjutsu, it wouldn't take much to deliver a mortal blow. He could see her fixing Gaara up after a battle. Maybe even growing old together,having a big family. Oh, how he wished for that future. For those two to have the world at their fingertips. To be the leaders of tomorrow. But he knew that it was a foolish wish and a pointless desire. Gaara would be lucky to see his seventh birthday.

He sighed and cast a sad smile down at his two favorite people. He didn't know how long he would have with them but he would do his best to ensure that they were happy and health in his care.

"Yashamaru, the Kazekage is calling for you"

Yashamaru shifted slightly at the sound of the Anbu, it was the only sign that he gave that he had heard the man speak. He knew that his leader mostly likely wanted to report on his son, to see if the last attack had done any damage to him at all. He wanted to knew how close this group had come to eliminating the village "monster".

God, how he hated that man. He couldn't wait until the day that he died, hoping that it would be sooner rather than later. But that wasn't here or now. His Kage was calling for him and he needed to go see what the overbearing man wanted.

His mind was reeling. He couldn't believe that, of all the things the Kazekage could have asked him to do, it would be this. He knew that Gaara could be a threat if he didn't learn control, but to send him of all people was beyond cruel. Yashamaru was the only person in Gaara's life that loved him. He was the one that was the closest to him. If Gaara survived this, he wasn't going to come out of it undamaged. It wasn't just about Gaara anymore. There was Asagao to think about now too. If he didn't survive, she was going to lose the family she had just gained.

He had to make plans and arrangements, because if this went the way he feared, he wasn't going to make it back home. She needed to be taken care of. He owed her that much. It was with that thought in mind that he made his way into the night.

It didn't take as long as he thought it would to get them to agree to his plan. It was a weight off his shoulders knowing that Asagao would be taken cared of if his mission went south. He knew that they would care for and train her to be a great kunoichi, if that was still her wish. But he was still holding out hope that the Kazekage would change his mind. He had given him time to plan and arrange the timing of his "mission". He hoped that in that time Gaara would have a better control over his sand with Asagao's support. But, he feared that it wouldn't matter at this point. It seemed that the Kazekage had truly given up on him. Ordering Yashamaru of all people to be the one to execute him this time was proof of that. He knew that, even if Gaara survived, he would snap, knowing that he had been the one sent to kill him. The Kazekage had made sure to include that he didn't want Yashamaru to pull any of his punches. Even in defeat, he was to attack him with his words.

He was smiling to himself as he left the odd pair that would be Asagao's family if the worse were to happen. He wanted to get back home to his family, knowing that he wouldn't have long with them.

When he made back to the tower, he was attacked by two little bodies that slammed into his legs, almost knocking him off balance. He smiled at at them as he placed one hand on each of their heads.

"Did you miss me?" he got out between laughs.

One pair of pale green eyes and one of violet looked up at him and both began to talk at the same time, each getting progressively louder as they tried to talk over the other.

He got that they had built more sand castles from his nephew, and later learned that his other nephew had knocked them done with his puppet. Pretty bold of a boy who had been terrified of his younger brother not to long ago. But, he was starting to learn that Asagao was just as terrifying as Gaara if she wanted to be. So, he knew that he was going to have to make another trip to the herb garden for Kankuro in the near future.

"I'm glad you guys had fun then. And, my deadly little flower, please don't poison Kankuro again. The Kazekage is beginning to get suspicious, and I can't keep telling him that he's just getting sick."

Asagao looked away from him with a cute little pout on her face. And it would seem that he was the only one to notice. Gaara had the sweetest bemused look on his face when he looked at her. If Yashamaru had to guess he would think that his little nephew was starting to get a little crush on their little flower. It was a sad thought. If his plan didn't work, then their budding friendship would came crashing down. If he was forced to do his mission, then Asagao was going to lose one or both of them.

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 **Ok, this chapter has been done for awhile. I was waiting on my beta to read and fix any mistakes. So I hope you guys and gals like it. Please enjoy and review.**


	6. The Fall

Asagao was slowly getting to know Gaara. She had found out that he was fascinated by different plant life. Cacti seemed to be his favorite, but he liked to go with her when she went to look for herbs and other plants. She loved to find new poisons and antidotes. She had even made a few things that were normally harmless into some fairly potent poisons. All she had to do was mix some things into it that helped bring out their more dangerous effects. It could keep her busy for hours, and Gaara would quietly sit in the corner and watch. He would at times ask what she was making or how it worked. But, the most part, he was just happy to sit with her. Gaara wasn't much for conversion to begin with so, just sitting in the same room with her was enough for him.

Asagao turned toward Gaara and noticed that his eyes were starting to glaze over with boredom. Not that she blamed him really. She knew that sitting and watching her work couldn't be that fun.

She smiled and asked, "Gaara, do you want to go outside? We could play tag or build sand castles again. I really don't care what we do. Anything would be better for you then sitting in the dark with me."

Gaara looked up at her and smiled shyly as he nodded his head. He was still having issues believing that Asagao was going to stay. So, he planned to spend as much time with her as he possibly could.

Asagao smiled as she pulled Gaara to his feet. She was one of the few people that his sand would let close enough to touch him, and that still shocked her. His sand had taken to sliding around her, almost like how her mother use to run her fingers through her hair or how she would comfort her. Aside from that day in the park, she had felt no killer intent from the sand. It seemed almost gentle to her.

She pulled him from the room. She kept a firm grip on his hand, never letting it go no matter the looks and glares they received. She really didn't care what the village thought of them.

She knew that Gaara was kind and gentle. It was true that he didn't have the best control over his sand but he was still a child. It never ceases to amaze her how adults expect child to have perfect control but when they do they're geniuses or freaks. Adults were weird. They never could make up their minds.

She continued walking toward the park that they normally played at, unaware of the fact Gaara's face was about as red as his hair. He was getting better at handling all the hugs that she gave him, but he still wasn't use to prolonged physical contact.

He stared at the hand that was being held by Asagao. He still couldn't believe that he had found someone who wasn't terrified of him.

Asagao turned back to ask Gaara what he wanted to do, when she noticed that his face was red. She stopped so quickly that he slammed into her. She quickly reached out and steady him with her other hand before she brought it up to check if he had a fever. Which of course brought her even closer to him, making more blood rush to his cheeks.

"Are you okay? Your face is awful red Gaara. If you're not feeling well, you can tell me. It's okay if we don't play today. I'm not going to be upset."

She smiled softly when she noticed that his face was getting redder. She knew that Gaara like to spend as much time with her as possible. And she knew that he hated when he got a sick, which didn't happen often.

"Gaara it would be best if we went home. You don't want to get worse and be led up in bed for days. We both knew that if you get really bad Yashamaru won't let me visit you."

Gaara wanted to tell Asagao that he was just embarrassed not sick. That they didn't need to leave the park, but he was scared to tell her. Knowing that she would ask him why. And he was really ready to tell her that she was the one that made his face heat up like that.

Gaara just pulled Asagao forward. He didn't want to talk about why his face was red and he knew that he would calm down after the got to the park and started doing something.

He didn't stop until the reached the park, but froze when he noticed that the other children there. Well it was true that he was getting better at dealing with people and his sand but he still wasn't about the others.

His hand tighten around Asagao's, he was unsure how to proceed from her but he didn't want to admit defeat. If he could somehow befriend her, maybe he could do the same with the others.

He didn't know that Asagao had been watching him for months before she finally worked up the courage to talk to him that day. This kids had been afraid of the village monster all their lives. Always told to avoid him and run when they saw him. It was only a gussy few that thought it was a good idea to taunt and tease the red-head. Not that they generally lived long to repeat there mistake.

Asagao guessed what was going through her new friend's mind and pulled him to a corner of the park that was unoccupied. She didn't want to take the chance that they would run into the other group. There was plenty of sand and room for them to play. That's where they spent most of the day.

Of course if she had know the horror that was to come that night she never would have let him go home with her that night. That was the night that their little world was going to crashing down.

She could still remember that day so very long ago. How they had played and laughed for hours. The little village they had built in the sand. They had gotten so much better at it. She had been able to make buildings that didn't fall apart. She remembered playing tag and how warm Gaara's hand had felt in hers.

If she had know that was going to be the last time she would ever be by his side she never would have left. She still couldn't believe that Yashamaru, would do such a thing. She loved that man like a second father. He had given her a life and with one deed he took that life away.

She could remember the screams of the villagers when Gaara lost it. The howls of the beast that he had becoming. Meeting Granny Chiyo as she took her away. Her laugh as she watch the destruction that Gaara rot. How she had turn toward and told Asagao that she had warned the Kazekage what would happen if he walked that path.

He had no one to blame but himself and now he had the monster that he wanted. But instead of being the weapon that he had hoped for it was going to be the end of their village.

She grabbed Asagao's arm and dragged her toward her new home on the outskirts of the village. It was there that Asagao would spend the next seven years of her life. She became the poison mistress that Yashamaru knew she would. Her skill with poison would soon surpass even that of Chiyo. It didn't take the council long to notice the young nin and she swiftly moved up the ranks of shinobi. Before long she was one of the sand's ANBU. It fit her well, her style of fighting was more better suited in the shadows.

She never forgot her friend and she would frequently sneak off to visit him as she grow. Most of the time it ended with a trip to the hospital. Gaara firmly believed that she had been in league with his uncle.

Chiyo put her foot down after she almost died from a wound to her chest. She listened to her teacher, but only just. She would leave gifts for her friend, things that she knew he would like. A rare cacti, a jeweled necklace that was carved to look like the moon. She even picked up a small wolf figure from the land of fire that she thought he would like. She learned that objects were best, at first she had tried gifts of his favorite food but he was more likely to throw them out uneaten.

She continued to watch him from afar, she hated the cold unfeeling monster that the Kazekage had created. She missed her sweet little Gaara, the one would who light up when you called his name. She missed his blushing face when she would hug him, most of all she just missed him. He was the only person she called her friend and she swore that someday she would find a way to bring him back.

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 **See I haven't fallen off the face of the world. I just got into writing another couple unpublish stories... I blame my beta, she a very bad influence. Please feel free to review... and I own nothing aside from Asagao, her story and most of her mother's clan...**


	7. Hokkaido

She watched as their whole plan of attack fell apart. She was one of the ANBU sent to call her fellow shinobi home. They had found their Kage's body in a ravine not far from the village. Whoever had been pulling the strings had taken his place. This whole battle had been pointless and they had lost a powerful ally and gain a power enemy because of the Kazekage and the councils' greed. She understood they had lost a lot in the war to the leaf but the leaf had lost just as much, yet they were willing to let the blood spilled stay in the past. She wasn't so sure that they would be so willing to let it go this time.

She could see the smoke raising for the leaf. No doubt a good chunk of it had been destroyed. She wouldn't be surprised if they lost more than one ally because of this stunt. It hadn't just been leaf shinobi in the village. They attack during the exam many villages had genin in there at the moment. Heaven help them if any of them had been clan children.

She shook her head that wasn't what was important. Finding and retrieving Gaara and the Kazekage's other children were. That was her mission, she was to bring them home as quickly and as safely as she could. They were the future of the village. With their Kage gone one of them would become the next Kazekage.

The elder thought that Asagao would be the best bet to bring them home. She had already made a name for herself in the bingo book. Granted her actually name was still unknown at this point, seeing as most of her missions were done as an ANBU, but the ANBU's Poison Princess was well known throughout the Elemental nations.

She breathed out a sigh of relief as she picked up Gaara's chakra. It was one that she knew well. She could sense his siblings nearby that made her job much easier. She could also feel the warmth of a fire chakra and a signature that felt similar to that of Gaara's. It was warmer, yet there was a dark force hiding underneath the warmth.

She made her way toward them, fully expecting the two unfamiliar chakra to be gone before she arrived only to feel Gaara's start to wane. It was enough to kick her into overdrive. She refused to lose her friend now, when he finally had a real chance at a life.

She could hear them before she saw them. She froze on the branch that she had been perched on. She couldn't believe that what she had heard. Gaara, bloodthirsty monster of the Sand, had just apologized to his siblings for the years of abuse and threats. To say that she was shocked would be putting it mildly. It was like her Gaara was back. It was a nice thought, but it was next to impossible for her little Gaara to be back not after everything that had happened. She sighed softly and pushed out with her chakra to make sure her charges weren't being followed.

She could pick up four chakra signatures coming up behind them and they were moving fast. There were two fire natures and one water and she could make out a wind nature. She smiled that was fairly rare in the Leaf.

She stood and signal for her team to move. They needed to get Gaara and his siblings out of here before the Leaf shinobi caught up with them. She didn't want to have to fight Gaara if he lost control.

"I want you to take the Kazekage's children to safety. I'll deal with the threat or at least delay them enough for you to reach safety."

She moved passed Gaara and them, stopping briefly to glance at her old friend. It must have been a tough fight if Gaara was that beat up. She only hoped that Gaara had done as much damage to his enemy and that he or she wasn't one of them following. She didn't think she could defeat someone who could do that to Gaara.

She reached behind her and pulled off her two war fans from her back. They were small and light-weight, similar in look to Tamari's large fan, but they were small enough for her to hold in each hand.

They couldn't make the big gushes of wind that Tamari's could, but that was okay. Asagao was more of a close range fighter. It allowed her to use her poisons to the greatest effect.

She pulled a small veil from a different pouch and applied a thin layer of poison to her weapons. She didn't need to do a lot of damage, just a nick or two would be enough to put them out. She didn't want to kill them just stop them from following.

She gentle pushed out with her chakra to see how far off they were and froze when she felt something that she hadn't since she was a small girl.

Two of them felt like her mother. She was frozen for a moment. In all the time she had been apart of ANBU she had never run into a Hokkaido. She had never wanted to. She hated them, they had threw away her and her mother away.

She took a deep breath, this changed things a bit. If she could feel the darkness brushing against her, that meant that those two had awaken their Kekkei Genkai, and she really didn't want to deal with a pissed off murderous wolf right now, but Gaara and her team's safety was more important. Gaara was more important than a long held grude. She wouldn't let her personally feelings on the matter stop her from doing her job correctly.

She waited until they were right under her before she attacked. She knew that the older one had sensed her but couldn't pinpoint where she was. Asagao had always been good at hiding her chakra and skill she had quickly developed after Gaara's fall. When he lost control he would sometimes try to hunt her down and it never ended well for her or him when it happened.

She was just able to graze the youngest girl, before the boy at her side kicked her away. Asagao used the momentum to flip and land on her feet. She didn't want to be caught on her back. She could feel that the women was barely holding it together. She had a feeling that if this kept up she was going to be fighting a freaking feral wolf. Not on her list of things to do today.

She sighed, this needed to end quickly and the best way to do that was to go on the offensive. She couldn't let them push her back and she sure as hell didn't want to push them too far back.

If she could last long enough for her poison to take effect she knew that they would retreat to take care of the girl. She hadn't even realized that she had been poisoned yet and that gave Asagao time.

Or so she thought, she felt the cool breeze and her hair shift against her neck as the wind blow and took her scent with it. The Hokkaido would know what she was in few seconds and there wasn't much she could do about. Her mentor always told her that winning a battle was as much about skill as it was lucky and how you reacted when Lady Luck decided to screw you over.

"Wind release: Fujin's wrath" she whispered as she used her fans to release the jutus. Her fans kicked up a small whirlwind that contain some blades of her poison and it would pick up debris as it moved closer to its target.

Yuri Hokkaido learned two things in quick session when the wind shifted, one that girl was a Hokkaido and two she had just poisoned her daughter.

A Hokkaido had just poisoned one of them and she had let the enemy escape.

She could feel the wolf start to push its way to the forefront. She couldn't lose it here. Not in front her baby and her team. Saigiso's partner was good but he wouldn't be able to stop a raging Hokkaido not with as tired as he was.

She had even less time to deal with everything when she was forced to dodge a freaking poison filled whirlwind. That was the last straw she was done and she didn't care if she tore the brat apart. Kakashi would be here before long and he could deal with her.

Asagao eyes widen as she dodge the claws of a huge pitch black wolf. Yes, this thing had claws. She was fairly sure that wolves weren't supposed to have claws, fangs yes, not so much claws.

She jumped up to land on a tree branch to try and gage the situation as it now stood. She now had to deal with a freaking horse sized wolves and she was pretty sure the kid now knew that his partner had been poisoned and was working to counteracting it. And she had lost sight of the other boy when the wolf showed up.

Maybe if she was lucky the monster of a wolf ate him and she wouldn't have to deal with him, but as she had learned early in laugh she wasn't a very lucky person most days.

She sighed as she heard the sound of bugs. Great, he was an Aburame. She liked them just fine as people but she hated their creepy little bugs. Those things could get into everything. It wasn't unheard of for a team to have to abandon their supplies after a run in with the Aburame clan.

Asagao jumped to another tree and used her fans to shoot a blast of wind toward her previous perch. She wasn't going to last long if she had to fight all of them on her own. She was more of a stab in the back and take to the shadows kind of kunoichi. She didn't do the head on kind of fighting and that put her at great disadvantage.

She cursed as she barely dodged another blow from the wolf. She wasn't really sure how it hadn't gotten a hold of her yet but it was only a matter of time. She knew that she may not make it back home, that was a reality of both her career and anything that had to do with Gaara. She always thought that Gaara was going to be the one that killed her.

Asagao slowly began to realized that she was in more danger than she had thought. The wolf was started to pull the other girl into her madness as well, and she didn't think the boy was going to be able to stop his partner from falling.

Asagao landed on the highest branch she could reach and prayed that she wouldn't have to watch this women rip her team apart. They may be her enemy at the moment but no one deserves to know that they were the cause of their team's death.

As much as she wished that she could be as cold and emotionless as the rest of her ANBU team she wasn't and she didn't want to watch this.

"Mom?" She heard the girl call out softly as the wolf circled her.

Asagao froze, she knew that feeling. The useless hope that she was wrong, the pain, knowing that her mother was gone. Asagao had felt the same pain the morning that she had found her own mother had passed in the night.

She smiled softly and sighed, she was more like her father than she thought.

Asagao jumped and pushed the girl out of the way taking the wolf's attack and rolling with it. She lost her mask in the attack. Violet eyes clashed with wolf gold as they stared each other down. She knew that if she looked away or moved to quickly that the wolf would crush her throat.

Asagao wasn't really sure what happened after that. One minute she was staring down a huge black wolf and the next a beautiful blond woman was pinning her down and looking at her with confusion before her eyes widen in understanding.

Well at least one of them understood what was happening because Asagao was beyond confused and she was sore and bleeding from where the wolf had clawed her.

"Asagao?" she whispered before letting her up.

Asagao quickly jumped back away from her before asking, "How do you know my name?"

The woman smiled softly, "I'm your Aunt Yuri. Your mother was my maternal cousin."

Asagao knew that was suppose to mean something to her but she wasn't really sure what or why. Her mother's clan had abandoned her when she found out she was pregnant with her. Why did she care that they were cousin or that they shared a….

She stopped and thought for a second. She said her name was Yuri, that meant she was most likely Yuri Hokkaido. The leader of the Hokkaido clan. If they shared a maternal link then that meant that her mother had been a member of the main branch of the Hokkaido.

"So, I'm supposed to care. You people forced my mother out and I really don't care to know you. Now that you're back in your right mind I'm going to leave now. I mean you no harm and I wish to return to my village."

Asagao turned and ran. She knew that if she stayed any longer that they were going to force her back and she had no desire to become a leaf prisoner, but she had a feeling that she would be seeing more of Yuri Hokkaido in the future and she wasn't sure she was going to like it.

* * *

 ***Omake, _Marry me_ ***

She looked out across the sand. It wouldn't be long before he made it and she smiled thinking about his face when she told him.

She hadn't been this excited in years. It almost didn't matter that she had just lost everything on a gamble. She didn't know if this was going to work.

"Ashi!" she heard him called out. She smiled again. No she didn't have anything to worry about, not really. She knew that he loved her.

"Panji," she took his hand when he landed next to her, "we're getting married."

He stopped and stared at her in confusion. It wasn't like he hadn't asked her before, but it always ended in a fight with her going back to her clan and him drowning his sorrow in one of the many bars of Suna.

Last time she had told him that it would never work out. That they were too different and that their villages would never allow it after the war. He wondered what could have changed.

"Umm, not that I'm not happy that you finally gave in after all these years, but what changed? Ashi is something wrong?"

He pulled her into his arms. A million thoughts and fears running thru his head. He knew that his wife loved her clan and her village and would never leave willingly. It was one of the reasons that they couldn't get married.

He was an ANBU medic and from one of Suna's few clans. Granted, his wasn't well known or all that powerful but the village would hunt him down if he left.

Kuchinashi's people were far more easy-going he had no doubt that they would welcome him with open arms, but he didn't want to bring more war and death to them. Not to mention that he was fairly sure the Leaf would force them to hand him over and that Ashi would die trying to save him.

As he tightened his embrace he realized that he couldn't feel her other half anymore. He wasn't really sure how to describe it really.

"Ashi," he whispered softly, "what did you do, baby?"

She smiled at him softly and caressed his face.

"I did what I had to do. No child of mine is going to grow up without her father. Not if I can help it at least."

He pulled away with a start, and looked down at her stomach.

"You're pregnant?"

He reached out to touch her and stopped with his hand hovering above her, almost like he was scared.

"Yes," she pulled his hand down to her stomach so he could feel the small bump that was their daughter.

"Our little Asagao is going to know both her parents and if I have to leave my clan behind for Suna to do it then so be it"

"Don't I get a say in her name?"

She smiled up at him, "No, her name is going to be Asagao. I may be leaving my clan behind but I'm taking their traditions with me."

Panji smiled. If that meant that he got to have her then he could live with that.

* * *

 **I hope you guys enjoy. Sorry it took so long to get out the last few chapters, I lost my muse for this story for a bit. It came back when I was helping my Co-writer plot for _Unwilling Sword._ I don't own anything but Asagao and her clan. Enjoy and please review... It really helps.**


	8. Kazekage

Asagao stared down at the lumpy package sitting on her doorstep. She wasn't sure if they had tried to wrap it and gave up or if it had simply come unwrapped in certain places. She nudged it with her toe and jumped back when it wiggled.

She hadn't used enough force to warrant all the wiggling and rocking. She wasn't stupid, she knew that a lot of villages would be happy if she was dead. Hell, a lot of the council in her own village wouldn't mourn if she didn't make it home alive from a mission. She knew that quite a few of them hoped that she would die from the wounds that she had gained from her battle with the Hokkaido. She probably would have if she wasn't the honorary granddaughter of Lady Chiyo.

Her team had almost lost it when she finally made it to the rendezvous point. Yuri had struck true, even in her frenzied state, Asagao's wound had been deep and very close to being mortal, if not for Gaara.

She had been surprised that he knew any first aid. He was all about murder and bloodshed, to say that it was a shock was putting it mildly. He must have seen the look on her face because he whispered softly, "I didn't throw away everything that you gave me, Asagao. I couldn't really bring myself to destroy all of it. It showed me that some part of you still cared even after everything that I did to you."

So Gaara had helped patch her up. It wasn't anything fancy or anything like what a trained medic could do but it did keep her alive until they made it back to the sand and Chiyo, who naturally took one look at it and called it the work of a half blind, half dead moron and that whoever thought that it was good enough should have their medical license revoked.

And then there was Asagao who was as equally sassy and temperamental as her mentor who had to point at that, thou Gaara wasn't half blind he was half dead at the time and the last thing she knew he didn't have a medic's license to revoke. Chiyo of coarse wouldn't let her student have the word.

"Of coarse, someone who only deals in the taking of life would have no idea the fine art of saving it. I guess I should be happy the boy didn't kill you with his bumbling."

Asagao just snorted and just barely refrained from pointing out that _all_ shinobi were trained in the killing arts not just Gaara and she knew of more than one Medic who took delight in the kill. Herself included, if she was going to be honest and she always tried to be honest with herself.

It was one of the flaws in her character that she didn't like to think about. She enjoyed the hunt and the look of panic in her prey's eyes before or sometimes after she dealt the finishing blow. She wasn't cruel, she didn't like to make them suffer but she no longer had that kind heart that Kaoi had worried about, no watching her best friend turn into a monster because of the actions of her guardian had killed it.

But that was not going to help her now. She had a lumpy wiggling, now whining, thing on her doorstep that she wasn't really sure how to deal with it. It could be some kind of gift or it could be a more dangerous kind of "gift". She was really sure and she hadn't made it this long in ANBU by being careless.

She knelt down and pulled a kunai from her leg holder, home or not she always had it on her, and pushed her chakra out to feel for any hostile intent. Feeling none she quickly reached down for the lumpy thing on her doorstep.

The first thought that went through her head was that it was soft and kind of squishy, and then it whimpered and she finally put two and two together. Someone had wrapped up an animal. She quickly put her kunai away and started to pull the wrapping off the poor thing to find cute sand colored kitten.

As she pulled the wrapping off it she realized that it must have been in a box or something of the sort at one point. It must have tried to jump out when the wrapping paper came loose and got tangled in the paper and the ribbon that was holding it together.

Now free of its paper prison the kitten looked up and butted it's head against Asagao's chin. It wanted attention and it wanted it now. She smiled down at the little thing and rubbed it's chin before taking it back inside. She checked it over for any wounds or tags before she let it down to explore. Asagao was sure that the little thing was suppose to be hers.

Ever since they had gotten back from the leaf Gaara had been sending her little gifts. She thought that he was trying to make up for the last seven or so years, not that Chiyo and Ebizo were making it easy for him. She had only gotten a handful of his gifts. Granny Chiyo and Uncle Ebizo having destroyed most of them on arrival but the two were out at the moment and even those two would have had a hard killing an innocent animal.

Chiyo didn't think much of Gaara. She couldn't forgive him for all the times that he had hurt or tried to kill Asagao when he had been lost to the one-tails or the times that young Asagao had come back with silent tears going down her cheeks from all the hate that he had thrown at her.

She didn't like that it took some enemy to knock some sense into him when Asagao had always been there. She had been by his side even him he had been at his worse. Honestly if it wasn't for the her the village would have lost more lives than what it did during his rampages. Asagao would go out and draw his attention to her to stop him from attacking civilians, and yet some on the council still dared to doubt her loyalty.

Asagao smiled down at the little thing as it rubbed against her leg. She had always liked cats. It was something that she had inherited from her father. Her mother's clan didn't much care for the little guys or cats didn't much care for their clan's other side. They could since the beast that hide beneath the surface.

But this one seemed to like Asagao just fine, it could be that she never inherited her mother's kekkei genkai.

"I'm going to have to get some food and other supplies. Granny's not going to be happy that I'm keeping you, but you're just so cute." Asagao told it before she picked it up and kissed its nose.

She couldn't believe that Gaara remembered that she liked cats, that is if he was the one that had given it to her. That thought gave her pause. She couldn't really think of anyone else that would give her a random gift. That's not to say that Chiyo and Ebizo didn't give her things. They did but only on her birthday and other special occasions, and she didn't have anyone who was trying to court her.

It didn't end to well for the last guy that had tried. All she knew was that he had ended up in the hospital, she still wasn't sure which one of her surrogate family had done it but she knew that one of them would when it got back to them that he was trying to gain favor with them through her.

Asagao walked to the kitchen to pull a bowel down to fill it with water. She laughed when the kitten jumped at the bowel flipping it over on itself and spilling the water. She laughed harder when it tried to run away from the attacking bowel and slipped in the water and slide into the counter.

"You're a jumpy little thing aren't you?" she said softly.

She quickly cleaned up the mess and turned to find her wallet. She had errands to ran and places to be.

"I'll be back little guy." she stopped and looked back at the kitten its head tilted, "Are you a little guy or a little girl? I didn't think to look when I found you earlier." she asked.

"You're a little guy after all. Well, little one, what should I call you?" she asked.

He butted against her nose this time. She smiled and patted his head.

"Hmm, how about Hiruko? I like that name." she nodded her and went to put him down but before she could he climbed up her arm to perch on her shoulder, "I take it you want to come along? I don't mind. I could use the company, it's been too quiet with granny and uncle gone." She sighed and rubbed her fingers against Hiruko's head.

She really wasn't this melancholy normally, but she was worried about Gaara and his siblings. The council had been in talks about who would be the next Kazekage and they wanted Kankuro to take the title but he would rather work behind the scenes than be in the forefront.

Temari simply didn't have the temperment for it and the fact that she was a woman grated with most of the council. She was far too outspoken for her own good at times and she often told the council to shove their kunai where the sun doesn't shine.

Most didn't even think that Gaara was even able to rule. He was still consider a monster by the village as a whole, he was doing much better and there had been no more lapses in control since the failed invasion. She was really proud of how far he had come. Gaara would make a fine leader if the village would give him a chance. He really did care about the village and wanted to fix the damage he had done over the years, and Asagao believed that becoming Kazekage would be the perfect way to do that.

Chiyo and Ebizo had been called to talk some sense into Kankuro, as Chiyo put it. Truth be told neither one of the siblings thought that Kankuro could lead his way out of a paper bag. Chiyo liked to say that all he was good for was killing and hitting on girls. They were blunt and to the point it was one of the things that Asagao loved about them.

It wouldn't be much of a surprise if Kankuro did become Kazekage but she really hoped that they would be able to look past Gaara's past to see what he could bring.

She shook her head and made her way to the market. It was one of her favorite places in the village. It was full of sights and smells. She loved the noise and the life. Most people would say that the heart of the village was the Kage residence but she'd, disagreed to her it was the market.

Not to mention, that it was a great place to hear local gossip and to hear about any deals. The siblings maybe well off but her time in the orphanage taught her to be frugal. She may not want for anything but that didn't mean that she went overboard. It wasn't her money to spend and she much preferred to earn and spend her own money.

She took a deep breath and smiled at the smell of bread and she could make out cookies, she must be close now. The path she walked took her past one of the village bakeries. She use to go there with Gaara and Yashamaru when she was younger. With Gaara acting more like his old self she was starting to get wistful. She missed going to the bakeries and the market with Yashamaru and Gaara. She really missed her family.

Not that she would admit it out loud. She may understand why Gaara acted the way he did and she may even miss him but she wasn't a fool. It was true that he was changing and she truly did want to give him a second chance but she wasn't going to forget the pain that he had caused her.

When Yashamaru tried to kill Gaara, she lost everything. Yashamaru was like another father to her and Gaara was her best friend. She didn't understand how he could have thought that she would ever try to hurt him. He was the reason that she had what she had. If it wasn't for Gaara, Yashamaru never would have taken her as his ward.

She made her way into the store to pick up the supplies that she needed. Hiruko would peek out of her hair at the passing people. Occasionally batting at a stray piece of hair that the wind caught. She waved at a few of the shopkeepers that knew her. Nodding to the different shinobi that were patrolling the market.

She was still consider an outsider by the council but the run of the mill, everyday shinobi of the village saw her as one of them. She had been a registered kunoichi since she was eight. She had gone on her fair share of missions and killed more enemies than some people twice her age. Her follow shinobi respected her skills and her kill count. Not many shinobi could claim that they were in the bingo book at her age.

"Asagao, I see that you found your kitten. I hope that you like him. I wasn't sure if you still liked kittens. I wasn't really sure."

Asagao smiled as she heard Gaara's voice. She had noticed how people were edging away from her and even Hiruko was standing at attention. She knew only one person in the village that could cause such fear in grown shinobi and that was Gaara.

"Yes, I still like cats. Weird, for a descendant of the Hokkaido clan I know but, I guess I have more of the Kazeko clan in me than the Hokkaido."

Gaara shook his head, he really didn't understand her. She was equal parts Hokkaido and Kazeko. He didn't understand how she thought that she was more of one clan than the other. Maybe she had changed more than he had first thought. She was still talking to him and she didn't seem to be scared of him. Granted she never really seemed scared of him even when she should have been. Back when he was lost to the blood lust and it had been her blood the one tail had called for the most. He was eternally grateful that she had managed to survive that time.

He was really sure how to get the relationship they once had back. Asagao wasn't the sweet little girl he once knew anymore. He had found that out the hard way when he had first came back and started to win her back. He had a half thought out plan that it would be easy. After all she had tried for so long stay with him, but he forgot who had took her in after the incident.

Lady Chiyo wasn't an easy person to leave with and was an even harder task master. She wanted to make sure that Asagao made a name for herself and that she would the pride of their village. She had got half her wish so far. Asagao's ANBU persona was feared throughout the elemental nations, but the council refused to look past her mother's roots.

Asagao was never going to be the sweet little girl anymore. The world as a whole had seen to that. She was ever bit the kunoichi now and she was proud of that fact, but that's not to say that she wasn't still a kind person at her core. Funny when he think about the fact that she literally poisoned people for a living and she was damn good at it too.

"Gaara?" Asagao waved her hand in front of his face.

Gaara blinked at her and smiled slightly. He had gotten lost in thought. He was trying to take in the girl he saw before him and the one he remembered. Yes, he could see her at times but this Asagao was good at faking it but she was a lot harder than she had been as a child but he wasn't the same boy from back then either.

If he wanted to be her friend again he would have to learn about this new Asagao and she would have to learn about him again, or at least that's what he thought. He, of coarse, forgot that Asagao was in Anbu and that meant she knew a lot about him and his family, and he didn't know that his father had been trying to get Asagao to kill him for years. It was one thing that Chiyo helped her with. She knew how much Asagao cared about Gaara and so she stopped the Kazekage from issuing the order that would force Asagao to kill Gaara or die trying.

She smiled at Gaara. Asagao had a pretty good idea about what was going through his head. He really hadn't changed all that much. He didn't smile as much nor was he as talkative as he had been but he hadn't had any positive human contact since Yashamaru's failed mission.

She was proud of the effort he was putting in now. Granted he didn't smile much nor did he talk up a storm but he was trying, just being here in the market was something.

Hiruko jumped from Asagao's shoulder to Gaara's and rubbed her head against his face. Asagao laughed at Gaara's dumbfounded look. He wasn't sure how to react. He wasn't use to anyone of anything showing him affection. He reached up patted the kitten and gave it a blank look. He looked back at Asagao and glared when he saw that she was just barely holding back her laughter.

He wasn't use to people laughing at him and he found that he didn't much care for it, even if he did love to hear her laugh.

"I don't see what's so funny."

At that Asagao lost the battle to keep from laughing. He sounded so grumpy about it. He didn't look all that grumpy.

"The look on your face, Gaara. You look so lost and out of your comfort zone. I'm sorry but it's cute and that's not something that I'm used to thinking when it comes to you."

Gaara looked a little hurt and perplexed at that. She wasn't sure if he was confused because she thought he was cute or because she wasn't use to thinking he was cute. Which again was kinda cute to her. She had thought he was cute when he was younger but that was years ago and she had become horrified by what he had become.

He had been about to reply when they heard his name called out. They turned toward the voice to see a member of the council weaving his way through the crowd. Asagao rolled her eyes at the glare he was sending her way, she was use to it at this point.

The council hated her, they always had and probably always will. They blamed her for Gaara's mental state. And that was something that Asagao took great pride in and also didn't understand. The boy from the leaf village was the one who finally managed to knock some sense into Gaara.

"It looks like they need you. It's probably about the Kazekage secession and I have to go meet up with Chiyo anyway."

Asagao reached out and took Hiruko from Gaara's shoulder. She patted Gaara's cheek and smiled. It had been a long time since his sand had let her or anyone touch him.

She turned and waved before making her way out of the market. She dropped her packages off at home before heading toward the greenhouse. Chiyo told her that she would be there after her meeting with the council. She hoped that it had gone well and that they would finally pick a Kazekage. It was starting to get dangerous, they had been without a leader for too long and she was worried about how the other villages were reacting. They were weaken from the attack on the leaf and they were still leaderless, a month later.

As she stepped into the greenhouse, she took a deep breath. She loved the different smells, all the flowers and herbs. They made an interesting cocktail. She couldn't really described it if she tried and she wasn't sure that she wanted too.

"Asagao, I'm glad that you made it here, and don't stand in the door you're letting all the cold air out." Asagao snorted at that.

It was maybe ten degrees colder in the greenhouse. So that made it maybe ninety degrees but that was what some of the more rare plants needed. It didn't get that much hotter in other lands in the summer. Unfortunately they couldn't grow the plants from colder climates. The desert could get freezing cold at night, but the heat of the day stopped to many different plants from growing and the lack of water didn't help any.

"You have a mission.", she didn't even look up from her plants. "You're going to be taking the Kazekage to the leaf. He's going to try and fix the problem that his father and the council created. I don't like this, but you're one of the best that the Anbu has and we don't want to take any chances with the boy's life. Plus, that Hokkaido has been making waves. It seems that she wishes to see you and for some reason she believes that all the letters and gifts that they have sent you are being waylaid or taken from you."

Asagao had the good grace to look a little shamefaced. She had thrown everything that Yuri had sent her away. She didn't want anything to do with her. Maybe someday, but not now. The scars had just healed and she wasn't ready to open them back up.

"I see. I have no problems going with the Kazekage as his guard but I'm not ready to face them yet, please understand. I can't let it go just yet. I want to, I want to know them but years of anger and hatred don't just go away. I'll do what I can to help with the treaty. I'll protect the new Kazekage and smile and nod. I'll do what I must but I don't think I can look them in the eyes and pretend that I'm okay with what happened with my mother."

Chiyo looked up and shook her head. She understand, there were many in the leaf that she would love to sink a poisoned kunai into and watched them suffer but that wouldn't help their people in the long run. The girl was a great ninja that was true but her emotions were always going to be here downfall.

* * *

 **So Hiruko came out of no where... I never planned to give her a pet or anything like that but it just came to me as I was writing and I thought it was cute so there he is. I hope you guys like it and please review.**


	9. Into the Leaf

She could feel the tension before they even reached the village. She could tell that something was wrong. She wasn't sure what was going on but her instincts were screaming at her to be watchful. She stopped on a branch and looked around, she had precious cargo with her that she refused to let be damaged.

The new Kazekage was with her and his siblings, and they were traveling to the leaf in hopes of forging a treaty with them to stop any fighting between the two villages. It was the hope that it would end the fighting that had been happening.

Ever since the chunin exams, there had been small scrimmages between them. The leaf had sent the Yuri Hokkaido to Suna. Asagao thought that Yuri had took it upon herself to come and it had nothing to do with any treaty. She didn't seem the type to care much about politics if she didn't get to hit something.

"Something doesn't feel right."

Yuri landed on the branch next to her and nodded her agreement. Her wolf was screaming at her. It knew something was wrong and it was chomping at the bit. She wanted out, her pups were away and that meant her grandpup and her boys were in the village alone.

"You're right, we need to move and move now. I'm not sure what's going on but we should have been met by an Anbu patrol by now. It's true that you're here on a diplomatic mission but you're still enemies of Konoha currently. No Anbu would let you get this close to Konoha without an escort even with me here."

Asagao looked over at her aunt and nodded. She understood, as a member of Anbu it wouldn't matter who was leading a foreign group toward Suna she would still follow them closely. It was to easy for someone to take control of or impersonate a fellow shinobi. Case and point, look what happen the fourth Kazekage, Lord Rasa, that whole incident was something all of the Anbu were ashamed of. If they had been better it wouldn't have happened. Granted Asagao still believed that the village was better off without him but that didn't mean that she wasn't ashamed of her failing, she was one of the best she should have known something was up.

"It has the same feel that the chunin exams had. I wonder if Konoha was attacked again. Your village lost a lot of people in the attack. Your weak now and if I was an enemy now would be when I would attack."

She took a deep breath in, trying to smell if there was smoke in the air. She always had sharp senses and she couldn't pick up the scent of smoke or blood. She was glad that she couldn't pick up any copper scent. She knew that meant that there hadn't been any big battles or attacks.

"I can't smell any blood in the air or any traces of smoke. So I don't believe that the village was attacked but something has happened."

Yuri nodded her absently, she had already gathered that. She was being to wonder if the Akatsuki had made another visit to the village. The girls were gone on a mission and that left the boys by themselves. Naruto was a target and Sasuke wouldn't let them just walk off with his friend. Not that either boy would ever admit that they were friends. They were far too proud, something that they had most likely picked from Suitopi.

Yuri took off ahead of the group, she wasn't worried about them keeping up. Granted she couldn't see her face but she knew who was beneath that mask and she had no worries about her abilities.

Which of coarse ticked off Kankuro and Temari. It was one thing for them to give command to their brother and an Anbu, but not to a foreign shinobi that they barely knew.

"I'm not going to listen to her. Why in Kami's green earth does she think that we're just going to follow her? We're shinobi of the sand, we don't listen to leaf shinobi. I don't like this women." Temari growled.

Asagao snorted, "Honestly, she remembers me of you. I have no doubt that you wouldn't take off like that if you thought that one of the boys was in trouble. You can pretend all you like but I know that you love your brothers and you're confident enough that you think that everyone would follow you. Also we don't have much of a choice but to follow her. She is are ticket into Konoha."

Gaara looked over and nodded before adding, "We do have you as well, Asagao."

Asagao jumped and jerked around to look at Gaara. She hadn't realized that he knew who she was beneath the mask. The other two hadn't been able to tell who she was. She shouldn't be surprised that he knew but she was.

"Asagao?"

"I'm sorry, my lord but I'm not sure what you mean."

"Oh, please girl, you missed your chance to play it cool when you jumped like a hare. You should have asked him why it matter if we had a flower. I mean that's only one of the hundreds of different ways you could have played that off." Temari snarked.

She had a knowing look on her face that ticked Asagao off, and Kankuro just looked green, like he was going to pass out. That could be because of all the little jokes he had been making this past week at her expense. Naturally she had been planning on making him pay for every little thing he had said but that was for later.

She sighed "Really, Gaara, the whole point of a mask is so that people don't know who I am. Ya know, the whole secret thing. It helps keep the village's secrets, well secret. I really hope you learn to keep your mouth shut.. Not really your strong suit." Asagao snarked back. She knew that he it would go over his head but she was annoyed with him.

Really the boy needed to remember to use his head. He couldn't just blurt out her name when she was in her anbu uniform. She had a job to do and that job needed to be done quickly, quietly and most important with no emotion. The mask helped you forget that you had a family back home. Who you were without the mask wasn't who you are with it.

She took off her mask. Wasn't much point in wearing it now anyway. She shook her head before she took off after Yuri. Gaara and the others would follow her. Gaara maybe her superior officer but she did have more field experience than the three of them, so he did take her advice. Of course she had thought it was because she was his anbu guard.

They hadn't even truly started their mission yet and she was already ready to go home and be done with it. She wasn't looking forward to wait else was going to go wrong, and she had a feeling that they were in for a fight, she was just hoping it was more the political kind.

* * *

Of course, some little genin had go and get themselves kidnapped, and naturally it had be some clan brat on stop of 's why the whole village was in an uproar.

Asagao sighed as she adjusted her mask. She was trying to keep her cool but this crazy woman wanted them to go out and save her little Uchiha. Asagao understood that it would help relations between the villages but she wasn't ready to send her Lord into a war zone.

She growled as Gaara talked with the Hokage. She didn't want any part of this, more so, because of that Uchiha brat. He tried to kill her best friend and his family. Not to mention he was an Uchiha.

It could just be the Hokkaido in her but she was okay with leaving him to his fate as it were.

"Doku, I understand that you're not happy about this but the Uchiha and Uzumaki-san need our help. So please try and keep your displeasure to a minimum."

Asagao turned and looked at Gaara and nodded. She didn't have to be happy about but she would listen to whatever her leader told her. Even if she did think it was ridiculous.

"Whatever you say My Lord. I'm only here to see to your safety and I don't believe that this is a good idea, but you are the commander and I will do as you tell me." Asagao bowed as she spoke.

Granted she was agreeing to do as Gaara said but she was doing it grudgingly and everyone knew it. Temari was trying not to laugh and Kankuro wasn't even trying.

"Hear that Gaara, she basically just said that you were an idiot and that she was only going along with it because you were the Kazekage." Kankuro got out between laughs. He was having a hard time staying upright.

Asagao rolled her eyes beneath the mask. She couldn't stand Kankuro on a good day, and today wasn't a good day.

She smirked beneath the mask and looked at Kankuro, "Now, Lord Kankuro, I never said that and you really should conserve your energy. After all, we are about to on a near suicide mission and accidents happen. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you." she tilted her head to the side, "or would we?" she whispered softly. Just low enough for Kankuro to hear.

He jumped away from her and inched behind Temari.

"We both know that hiding behind me won't stop her if she really wants to hurt you, and I'll help her." Temari growled as she pushed Kankuro out from behind her. She hated when he acted like that.

Gaara glanced up from the map that Lady Tsunade was showing him. He looked from his siblings to Asagao and back again. He didn't really think that she would kill any of them. After all she had taken an oath to protect them with her life. But that didn't mean she would make Kankuro suffer if she could, and she could. She hadn't earned her title by sitting sit and looking pretty.

"Doku, please don't threaten my brother. Even if he's being annoying. We're going to need him in working order soon." Gaara had already gone back to looking at the maps before he spoke.

Asagao walked over and looked over the maps. They had a red line going up the map toward the valley of end with small black circles along.

"I take it that the line is were our enemy has traveled? The black circles? Are they combat zones or..?" she let the question taper off when she noticed the looks she was getting from the Konoha-nin.

She glanced over at Gaara and gestured with her hand at him. Unsure of what she had done. She wasn't one to sit back and just take orders. If she could help with the planning she would. She was a leader after all and Gaara was still learning how to formulate a plan of attack.

"I'm not sure who you think you are little girl but this is meeting is for the leaders and their council not meer guards." a grizzle one eye man said from the corner.

"Doku is one of our best Anbu, if not the best, she has more kills to her name than shinobi twice her age. She is not a meer anything. I respect her opinion far more than some self important old fool that feels that he has any say over a shinobi from another village." Gaara spoke with his normal expressionless face and emotionless voice.

She could hear numerous coughing fits breaking out around the room. Yuri didn't even try to hide her laughing. She was barely holding it together. She had her hand braced against the wall and was holding her stomach.

"I knew that I liked this kid for a reason." she got between laughs. "We should listen to him. It's not often that we can get an opinion from an unbiased outside source. I really don't think it would be wise to pass this chance up, Tsuna." she was wiping tears off her face at that point.

Asagao didn't really understand what was so funny about Gaara standing up for one of his people. Any good leader would and Gaara was a good leader. Or at least he would be. He still had a lot to learn.

"Doku, please continue." Tsunade said with a wave of her hand.

Asagao looked back down at the map with a shrug, missing the old man's look of fury.

"If these are battles like I originally thought that means we need to get out there soon. From what I've gathered from this meeting you sent a bunch of Genin, talented as they may be, they are going to need help and soon. The longer we leave them out there the worse this is going to get for them. I don't see that creepy snake dude sending just anyone to take the _Uchiha_ heir," she added air quotes, "from the village. It would be understood that you would send the best you had to offer after him. So naturally he would have sent the best he had to get the boy, and you sent _Genin_ after them. I don't think were going to be finding many allies left on this battlefield." Asagao spoke with a calm forceful voice.

She wasn't okay with them sending children who were barely out of the academy to do something that a trained experienced shinobi would have a hard time doing. Of course she was overlooking the fact that she wasn't much older than them herself, but she never really put herself on the same level as her peers. She had been trained in a hard school at a very young age. Having a crazy old lady as your teacher and an even crazier boy who tried to kill on a daily basis did that to you. She had been a harden killer by her tenth birthday. The only one of those Genin who could match her was the Uzumaki, maybe the Uchiha, and she only knew that because of what Gaara had told her.

"We don't have any Jounin or Chunin to spare. At least not until Blood Moon gets back. Which should be soon but I'm not sure when. I sent a messenger bird to them this morning but it could take it days just to find them. Hatake has been called back as well but he won't be back until tonight at the earliest, tomorrow morning at the latest. Trust me if I had another option I wouldn't have sent them."

Asagao growled under her breath. There was always a choice. She hated when leaders used that line.

"Fine, our team will head out as soon as we get some more supplies. As soon as you can send more man do so. As good as the Kazekage and his siblings are there's not much that four people can do. I'm sure that we're going to end up splitting up." Asagao turned toward Gaara, "We need to head out soon my lord. I'll come up with a plan of attack as we leave." Asagao snarked before turning to leave.

The old man stepped up, "Just one moment child. We can't have foreign shinobi wondering thru our country." he had a superior look on his face.

Asagao turned back, "Well, I'm afraid you're a little too late to worry about that, Old man. Maybe if you had thought about that you wouldn't have to turn to _foreign_ shinobi to solve your problems. Another thing old man I have a name, it's Doku, maybe you should use it or at least look it up. Ah, but then I didn't bother to learn your name did I?" she smiled under her mask before walking out.

She didn't deal well with fools and that man was one. They were asking them for help not the other way around. For a diplomat that man was beyond rude and uninformed.

Kankuro followed her out, "I love when you get all sassy."

Asagao cocked a brow, forgetting that he couldn't see it, "I thought you hated when I got sassy."

"When you're sassy with me, yeah I hate it. But I love it when you use your evil powers for good."

Asagao shook her head. There was no winning an argument with Kankuro when he got like that.

"Yeah, now I hope I didn't just get us killed. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that." Asagao sighed.

Kankuro walked over and patted her head and pulled her into a half-hug. It was a rare moment of affection. The two of them may fight like cats and dogs but Kankuro thought of her like a little sister and always had. Not that he would ever admit it out aloud and if anyone asked he would deny.

And Asagao would never admit but Kankuro was like her annoying older brother and she did love him. She returned the hug before quickly pulling away and straightening her clothes and punching him in the arm.

Which is what Temari and Gaara saw when they left the council room, they look at each and Temari rolled her eyes and stepped between Kankuro and Asagao before he could retaliate and get himself poisoned or killed by Gaara.

After getting their supplies they each made their way to the village gate. Asagao was the first to arrive and she turned back to town to watch for the others. She was beginning to formula a plan of attack and the quiet was helping. She just hoped they would be in time to save her best friend's savior. She could care less about the Uchiha.

* * *

 **Been working on this one for awhile. I just love how sassy Asagao is. I'm pretty sure that you can guess who the old man is. Please enjoy and review.**


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